


Ianto's Past

by elizabuffy



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-08-06
Updated: 2009-08-06
Packaged: 2017-10-23 08:02:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/248023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elizabuffy/pseuds/elizabuffy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Why did Ianto lie about his father's profession? This made no sense to me.<a id="cutid1-end" name="cutid1-end"></a></p>
            </blockquote>





	Ianto's Past

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much to Shannon for telling me this is worth posting (so if you hate it, blame her!) and a special thanks to Kate for her awesome beta work. You rock so hard!

Dinner had been nothing elegant, merely noodles with red sauce, but there had been wine and good conversation. They were now curled together on the sofa with a movie playing in the background. Jack's hand was carding through Ianto's hair, and Ianto was feeling especially close to Jack. Close enough to tell him something he'd not told anyone since he'd run away to London all those years ago.

There was a lull in the conversation. Not an uncomfortable one, merely a pause between thoughts. _Now or never_ , thought Ianto.

“Jack, I...I...”

“Yes, Yan?” Jack prompted. Jack only called Ianto 'Yan' when he was feeling exceptionally romantic, which gave Ianto pause. What he was going to say would ruin the mood for certain, yet the longer the lie went on, the more it ate and Ianto's insides.

“I...Jack. My father? He wasn't a master tailor. He was a shop man at Debenhams. Men's department.”

Jack pulled away from Ianto. Not a lot, just enough to let Ianto know Jack was confused at his deception. And possibly a little hurt.

“Why would you lie about something like that, Ianto?”

Oh dear. Ianto. Not Yan. Still, Jack's voice showed little emotion. Surely Jack wasn't _that_ upset?

“When I moved to London, I was trying so hard to fit in. Torchwood One was such a glamorous place, and I was just out of school. I didn't want people to think I came from a poor family. It didn't fit in with my image then.

“And then, with you, well, when it came time to tell you a bit of my family, having a father who worked as a shop man seemed...boring, and I wanted you to respect me.”

“I would have respected you anyway,” came Jack's quiet reply.

“I know,” Ianto sighed, his chest tight with worry, “which is why I didn't want to tell you the truth. The lie came out so easily, as though it were the truth. Now, though, it just eats at me. I want you of all people to know who I really am.”

“I do know you, Ianto. You are brave and strong and have made something wonderful of yourself, even if you aren't nearly as sure of yourself as you pretend. I admire you. You shouldn't be ashamed of who you are. Of what your father did. That's nothing to do with you.”

“So, you don't think ill of me? For lying,” Ianto's voice was soft, as if he were close to tears.

“I could never think ill of you. I've forgiven far worse. I'm just glad you were able to to tell me.”

Ianto leaned forward to Jack and gave him a soft, chaste kiss to the lips. After they pulled back, Jack pulled Ianto close again and whispered four words that warmed Ianto's whole being: “I love you, Yan.”

~e!


End file.
